About Myself…
I’m a carpenter with experience building custom homes, renovations, and a background in art. I started my business with a focus on building high quality exterior wood projects with an emphasis on putting in extra detail work over rushing from one job to the next. While carpentry and the visual arts are two different worlds, I’ve found my background to be indispensable when building. There’s rhythm to an existing space… balance, color, all the nuance and variables that go into what a space is. There’s a certain satisfaction to building something out of nothing and collaborating with clients to bring ideas to life is what motivates me every day.
Going forward I’m expanding my business beyond new outdoor builds and offering small products and custom millwork from planter boxes to wood posts to hard to find wood plugs.
Process
Every project begins with the selection of high quality lumber. I support local lumber yards who source wood from sustainable foresters in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. There’s a lot of factors that go into lumber selection beyond straightness and appearance. The moisture content of the lumber, the type of cut (Flat Sawn, Quarter Sawn, Rift Sawn), the number of rings, etc… will all affect the end result. If you’ve seen cedar roofing shingles or deck boards that are cupping, its because the lumber being used is flat sawn parallel to the center of the tree. High quality cedar shingles that resist warping will be rift sawn running perpendicular to the center of the tree. Anticipating how the wood will move is part of the selection process.
Once I’ve selected all the lumber for a project, I store it at my shop and let it acclimate to the outdoor environment for 2 - 4 months. Expansion and contraction will always happen with outdoor wood but syncing it up with the environment gives the most stable and consistent results.